Prefabricated truss rafters and floor supports are in wide use. Such trusses are typically assembled from wooden members positioned in an abutting relationship and joined together by connector plates. For example, the 1965 U.S. Patent to Sanford, U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,694 describes and illustrates triangular roof-type trusses being formed in this manner. The 1974 U.S. Patent to Schmitt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,277 shows flat, floor-type trusses formed in this manner. A typical connector plate for use in forming trusses is shown in the 1971 U.S. Patent to Wood, U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,197. As used herein, the term "connector plate" is used in a broad generic sense and is intended to mean a plate with protrusions which can be imbedded in the wood. The term is intended to include both unitary and non-unitary plates. It is only important that the plate have a sufficient dimension to span the distance between the two joined sections of wood and be used with protrusions embedded in the wood to form the connection. Connector plates include, for example, gang-nail plates and truss plates. In some connector plates a plurality of flat pointed protrusions are integrally joined with the plate. In the Wood patent the protrusions that are struck from the surface have slight curve to add rigidity to the protrusions.
Wooden cord members are properly positioned and connector plates are pressed or forced into the wood to join the cord members together to form a truss. Impact or hammer forces have not been used because these forces tended to cause the protrusions to fail in bending during assembly. In the past the proper seating of connector plates by pressing has encountered difficulty because of the massive forces required to embed or seat the protrusions in the wood. The problem is increased as truss and connector plate size and capacity are increased.